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+u e e h S m e e h S 2 N W 0 D B B L a d O M 0 W TELEMOTQR APPARATUS FORSTEERING MACHINERY. No. 568,737.

Patented Oct. 6, 1896.

WITNESSES:

, ATTORNEY (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

A. B. BROWN; TELEMOTOR APPARATUS FOR STEERING MACHINERY.

No. 568,737. Patented Oct. 6, 1896.

INVENTOR ATTORNEY n1: mums anus ca vnoTb-umm summary, 0. c,

UNITED STATES PATENT @EETCE.

.ANDREW B. BROWVN, OF EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND.

TELEMOTOR APPARATUS FOR STEERING MACHINERY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 568,737, dated October6, 1896.

Application filed November 8, 1895. Serial N0. 568,260. (No model) Toall whom it may cancer/t:

Be it known that 1, ANDREW BETTs BROWN, a subject of the Queen of GreatBritain, residing at Edinburgh, in the county of Mid-Lothian, Scotland,have invented a new and use- I ful Telemotor Apparatus for OperatingSteering Machinery and for other Purposes, which invention is fully setforth and illustrated in the following specification and accompanyingdrawings.

The object of this invention is to provide means for transmittingmovements from a distance to steering, telegraphing, indicating, andother analogous apparatus.

As the motive power for steering vessels is frequently either attachedto the rudder-head or located in close proximity to the rudder it isnecessary to have some connection between the valve or valves of thesteering-engine and steering-wheel, which latter is often located on thebridge close to the bow of the ship. Heretofore a complicatedarrangement of shafting and gearing has been used for this purpose,which was difficult to operate and uncertain in its movements. By myinvention herein described a hydraulic connection is established betweenthe steering-wheel and the steering-valve which is simple inconstruction and readily and certainly operated.

The invention will first be described in detail, and then particularlyset forth in the claims. 7

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 shows the transmitting apparatusin sectional side elevation. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of Fig. 1. Fig.3 shows in elevation, partly in section, the receiving apparatus used inconnection with the transmitting apparatus shown in the precedingfigures. Fig. atillustrates a certain detail of construction hereinafterdescribed.

In said figures the several parts are respectively indicated byreference-letters, as follows:

The transmitter, which may be located on the bridge of the vessel,consists of a cylinder or pump A, formed at its bottom into a bedplatea, and provided with a piston B, having a piston-rod b. Said piston-rodis provided at its upper portion with a rack O, which meshes with apinion D, mounted on a suitable shaft d, carried in the brackets orframes 0. Mounted on said shaft also is a gearwheel E, which meshes witha smaller gearwheel E, mounted 011 a shaft 6 in the frame 0. Suitablyjournaled in the frame 0 is a shaft f, upon one end of which is mounteda steering-wheel G, the other end of said shaft carrying a pinion F,which meshes with the gear-wheel E. It will thus be evident that whenthe shaft f is revolved by the handwheel G the shaft d will be alsorevolved and the piston B moved by the pinion D in mesh with the rack C.

The cylinder A is made in two parts united at its center by means of adistance-piece H, which, when the piston B is at the position shown inFig. 1, admits of the free passage of water above and below the piston,so that there are really two cylindersan upper one I and a lower one J.The distance which these cylinders are kept apart by the distancepieceII is small, so that the packing on the piston B, which may be ofleather or any other suitable material, will freely enter the cylindersI and J without being damaged.

A small tank V, provided with a gage-glass X at its end, is charged witha mixture of glycerin and water, preferably one part of the former totwo or three of the latter, this fluid being supplied to the cylinder Aby means of a pipe Y, leading into the valveboXes W at each end of thecylinder. As it is important that the whole system of pipes andcylinders should be fully charged and that no air should be present theexpansion and contraction of the fluid, due to changes of temperature,must be provided for. For this purpose the valve-boxes IV (shown insection in Fig. 4.) are each provided with a small inlet-valve iand anoutlet-valve s, the outlet-valve being practically an ordinarysafety-valve loaded above the working pressure, which is about onehundred and fifty pounds per square inch. IVhen the temperature rises,as in the case of the sun shining on the pipes, a portion of the fluidis forced into the tank V, and whenv the temperature falls the fluidcontracts and takes in the necessary quantity through the inlet-valveFrom the upper valve-box WV, which is 0011- nected to the top of thecylinder I, there passes a pipe K, and from the lower valvebox IV therepasses a similar pipe L. Said pipes K and L lead aft in the vessel towhere the steering-gear is located and there connect with the receivingapparatus shown in Fig. 3. Said receiver consists of a cylinder M, intowhich the pipes K andL lead, one at the top of said cylinder and one atthe bottom. Said cylinder is provided with a piston N, having apiston-rod it, connected to the connectin g-lin k 0. To the upper end ofthe link 0 may be connected any suitable lever for operating the valveof the steeringengine. (Not shown.) The piston-rod n is provided withtwo erossheads I and Q, having between them spiral springs R R, whichwill cause the piston N to remain in its middle position unless movedfrom that position by the pressure of water upon either side of it.

The transmitting apparatus shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is provided withadevice for showing the actual posit-ion of the helm. This deviceconsists of a quadrant index-plate 11, secured to the frame of theapparatus and having degrees marked thereon to indicate the an gles ofthe rudder. To the frame of the apparatus is also secured a toothedsector 0', which carries an index pointer or arm .9, adapted to move infront of the quadrant 1'), said toothed sector 1' being in mesh with apinion 15, secured to the shaft (Z.

From the above description the operation of the apparatus will beevident. If the hand-wheel G of the transmitting apparatus be revolvedin the direction of the arrow by the helmsman on the bridge, saidmovement of said wheel will, through the instrumentality of the pinionF, gear-wheels E E, pinion D, and rack C, elevate the piston 15 in thecylinder A. As said piston rises it will expel, through the pipe K, thefluid contained above it in the cylinder A. Said fluid will then rushthrough said pipe to the receiving apparatus located near thesteering-engine and will enter the cylinder M of said receiver above thepiston N. Said piston will thus be depressed, carrying with it thepiston-rod n and connecting-rod 0 and compressingthe springs R. Themovement of the rod 0 will impart to the valve-rod to which it isconnected the necessary motion to cause the engine to move the rudderthe desired distance, said movement of the rudder being indicated to theoperator by the pointer s, operated by the mechanism hereinbeforedescribed, attached to the transmitting apparatus. If the hand-wheel Gbe moved in the opposite direction, it is obvious that the operations ofthe several parts will be the reverse of those just described.

If the packing of the piston B should become worn so as to cause leakagein the cylinder A, it might happen that the piston B would work entirelyin the upper half I of said cylinder and the ship be steered on astraight course with the indicator pointing at,say, twenty degrees.This, however, could continue until the indicator passed the degreesmarked on the index-quadrant without injuring the apparatus, for thereason that the capacity of the cylinder A of the trans initter isnearly double the capacity of the cylinder M of the receiver. Toreadjust the indicator and the position of the helm, it is onlynecessary to move the wheel G until the indicator is brought to zero.The piston 13 then enters the distance-piece II,and the compressedsprings R on the receiver will immed iately bring all the parts intocorrespondence. As, however, in steering a ship the piston B is alwayspassing the distance-piece II in porting or starboardin g even to thesmallest extent, the piston N of the receiver tends to its middleposition while the operation of the transmitting apparatus tends todisturb said piston and move it in either direction from the center ofthe cylinder M. It may be sometimes necessary to set the apparatus sothat this central position does not actually represent the rudder astrue fore and aft, but a certain amount of permanent helm is given tocounteract the action of the propeller in steering, and this is done bymaking the connecting-links 0 longer or shorter as the case may require.

in some cases where it might be inconvenient to adjust the a1')paratusby moving the indicator into its mid-position by means of thesteering-wheel, thus moving the rudder and momentarily affectin g thestraight course of the ship, the apparatus may be provided with afoot-lever T, connected by means of toothed sectors T T to a cock orvalve U, which kept closed by means of springs T When the lever T isdepressed, the said cock is opened and free communication establishedthrough the valve-boxes \V, between the two ends I and J of the cylinderA, by means of the pipe Z, thus slowly centering the piston Bin saidcylinder and allowing the indicator to be brought to zero withoutdisturbing the piston in the receiving'cylinder or moving the rudder.

Having thus fully described myinvention, I claim 1. In a telemotorapparatus the combination of the following-named parts: a doubleaetin gtransmitting-cylinder; a piston, within said cylinder, provided with aI)lSlIOl1l0Cl; a rack-bar formed upon or secured to said piston-rod; ahousing or frame; a pinion mounted upon a shaft and meshing with saidrackloar; a hand-wheel mounted upon a second shaft; earing connectingsaid pinion with said hand-wheel shaft; a receiving-cylinder providedwith a piston; pipes connecting said transmitting and receivingcylinders; and means for centering the piston of saidreceiving-eylinder.

2. I11 a telemotor apparatus, the combination of the following-namedparts: a doubleactingtransmitting-cylinder; a piston, within saidcylinder, provided with a piston-rod; a rack-bar formed upon or securedto said piston-rod; a housing or frame, as c; a pinion, as D, mountedupon a shaft, as (Z, and meshing with said rack-bar; a gear-wheel, asE,mounted upon said shaft and meshing with a second gear-wheel, as E,secured to a second shaft, as e; a hand-wheel shaft, as f, carrying atone end a pinion, as F, in mesh with said second gear-wheel, and at theother end a hand-wheel, as G; a receiving-cylinder provided with apiston; pipes connecting said transmitting and receiving cylinders; andmeans for centering the piston of said receiving-cylinder.

3. In a telemotor apparatus, a transmittin gcylinder constructed of twocylinders or parts united loya distance-piece, so as to form a singlecylinder for the purposes set forth.

4. In a telemotor apparatus, the combination of a transmitting-cylinderconstructed of two cylinders or parts united by a distancepiece so as toform a single cylinder and provided with a piston; pipes for supplyingand discharging fluid to and from each end of said cylinder; andmechanism for reciprocating said piston.

5. In a telemotor apparatus the combina-. tion of atransmitting-cylinder; a receivingcylinder; pipes connecting saidcylinders; and a valve-box in communication with each end of saidtransmitting-cylinder and containing an inlet and an outlet valve, forthe purposes set forth.

6. I11 a telemotor apparatus, the combination of atransmitting-cylinder; a receivingcylinder; pipes connecting saidcylinders; valve-boxes connected to the ends of saidtransmitting-cylinder and containing each an inlet and an outlet valve;a supply tank or chamber; and a pipe connecting said tank with saidvalve-looXes.

7. In a telemotor apparatus, the combination of a receiving-cylinderprovided with a piston having a piston-rod; a connecting-link andcross-heads secured'to said piston-rod; and springs secured to saidcross-heads for automatically centering said piston.

8. In a telemotor apparatus, the combination of a receiving-cylinderprovided with a piston having a piston-rod; a connecting-link andcross-heads secured to said piston-rod; springs secured to saidcross-heads for automatically centering said piston; atransmittingcylinder provided with a piston; and pipes connecting saidtransmitting and receiving cylinders.

9. In a telemotor apparatus, the combina tion of a transmittingcylinder; a piston,

within said cylinder, provided with a pistonrod; a rack-bar formed uponor secured to said piston-rod; a pinion mounted upon a shaft and meshingwith said rack; a handwheel mounted upon a shaft; gearing connectingsaid pinion with said hand-wheel shaft; a receiving-cylinder providedwith'a piston having a piston-rod; springs connected to said piston-rod;and pipes connecting said transmitting and receiving cylinders.

10. In a telemotor apparatus, the combination of a transmitting-cylinderconstructed of two parts united by a distance-piece. and provided with apiston; mechanism for reciprocating said piston; a receiving-cylinderprovided with a piston; springs for automatically centering said piston;and pipes connecting said transmitting and receiving cylinders.

11. In a telemotor apparatus, the combination of a transmitting-cylinderprovided with a piston having a piston-rod provided with a rack-bar; apinion mounted upon a shaft for operating said rack-bar; a second pinionmounted upon the same shaft; and an indicating apparatus operated bysaid second pinion.

12. In a telemotor apparatus, the combination of a transmitting-cylinderprovided with a piston having a piston-rod provided with a rack-bar apinion as D mounted upon a shaft as d for operating said rack-bar; asecond pinion as 25 mounted upon the same shaft and meshing with atoothed sector as r carrying an index-pointer as s; and a graduatedquadrant indeX-plate as 10.

13. In a telemotor apparatus, the combination with atransmitting-cylinder provided with a piston and piston-rod, of a pipeconnecting the ends of said cylinder on both sides of said piston andprovided with a cook or valve, and a lever connected to said cock foroperating the same for the purposes set forth.

14:. In a telemotor apparatus, the combination of the following-namedparts: a transmitting-cylinder provided with a piston-rod; a pipe,connecting the ends of said cylinder on both sides of said piston, andprovided with a cock or valve; and a toothed sector connected to saidcock and meshing with a second sector connected to an operating-lever.

A. B. BROWN. [L. s] W'itnesses:

WILLIAM J. HILL, JOHN M. MILLIGAN.

